Honolulu, Hawaii

  Honolulu, Hawaii - Feb 02  - 09, 2024


How to get from Honolulu Airport to Waikiki

To get to Waikiki from the airport the choices depend on how much luggage you have. If you have big luggage you can take Roberts Hawaii Airport Shuttle or a cab. We always travel light, just with backpacks so we used public transportation. Bus 20 Eastbound route goes from the airport to downtown Honolulu, then to Ala Moana Center and ends in Waikiki. The buses depart every 25 minutes. The trip is about 1 hour and the fare is $3 to be paid in cash. The Bus is the cheapest option but you have to be aware of the baggage rules, you should be able to place your luggage under the feet or on your lap, no larger bags are allowed.

Most people visiting Oahu will probably rent a car but using the bus is the cheapest way to visit Honolulu or go around the island. For a first visit, you can get to almost all of the popular spots by just jumping on the bus if you plan carefully ahead. We purchased Holo cards and loaded the cards with a 7-Day Passes which cost us $32 for each, $2 for the card and $30 for the pass.

Honolulu Must See Attractions

Our first day in Honolulu we walked along the shore all the way to downtown to see most of the historic landmarks and finished with a visit to Punchbowl Memorial Cemetery. It was an about 23 km walk but we returned to our hotel by bus.

Waikiki Beach

We started with a stroll on Waikiki Beach after taking some pictures with the Duke Paoa Kahanamoku Statue. Waikiki Beach is one of the most famous beaches in the world and draws millions of visitors each year. Its fame might come from the nice views of the Diamond Head and for the turquoise waters, otherwise it is a smaller beach than you will expect.








Magic Island and Magic Island Lagoon

We continued to Kahanamoku Beach, passed by Hilton Lagoon and by Ala Wai Boat Harbour and got to the Magic Island, a man-made peninsula which later became a park. At the tip of the peninsula there are seawalls surrounding a shallow lagoon.


Street Art in Honolulu

Walking towards downtown Honolulu we diverged to Koula St and Auahi Street intersection to see some of the Honolulu vibrant murals and street art.



Iolani Palace

Most of the royal history of Hawaii can be uncovered downtown Honolulu. Iolani Palace was home of the last of Hawaii’s monarchs, King Kalakaua.

Ali’Iolani Hale

Located just accross the street from Iolani Palace, Ali’Iolani Hale used to be a government building during King Kalakaua and currently is the home of Hawaii State Supreme Court.


Our walking itinerary took us by Hawaii State Capitol, the official statehouse of the U.S state of Hawaii,


Then by The Bell of Nagasaki, given to the City of Honolulu by the survivors of atomic bombing in Nagasaki.

Passed by the Cathedral of St Andrew

 

And by Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady Peace

And took a break to visit Capitol Modern, an art museum with free admission and a permanent display of Hawaiian art.



Aloha Tower

Located on Honolulu Harbor, the tower is an iconic symbol of Hawaii. It was the first place where the visitors landed when coming by the sea and today is still the place where the big cruise ships dock while in Honolulu.


Punchbowl Crater

After visiting downtown Honolulu we decided to visit Punchbowl Crater where the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is located. Most of the people drive here but we walked. It took us about 50 minutes for the 3 km to the top. The memorial commemorates those who lost their lives or went missing in the Pacific during World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War. There is also a scenic lookout that offers very nice views of Honolulu.






Other various places during our walk to Honolulu City downtown area












Seeing a Hula Show

One of the best ways to immerse into the Hawaii’s culture is to see a Hula show. Hula is a traditional Hawaiian dance that tells a story about history, culture or the natural world. There are two ways to watch a Hula show, either to go to a Luau, a Hawaiian feast accompanied by a Hula show or to see one of the free Hula shows at some venues across Waikiki. Some of these places are

Royal Hawaiian Centre. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays between 5:30-6:30 pm, International Market Place, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays at 6:30 or 7 pm depending of season, and Ala Moana Shopping Center, daily at 5 pm.




International Market Place

Located in the heart of Waikiki, it is a nice place where you can shop, dine or watch a free and paid shows,







Hiking Diamond Head Trail

This is one of the most popular trails in Oahu and one that draws the biggest crowds. Even though is a bit steep, it is also short, about 3 km return route and after seeing Diamond Head from Waikiki Beach, everybody wants to be on the top of the 300,000 years old saucer-shaped crater. It took us 1 hour to get on top and return to the visitor center. To get to the Diamond Head we took Bus 2 from Waikiki area. Bus 23 goes there as well. After getting off the bus it was a short walk uphill that took us through a tunnel and then we got to the Visitor Center. The trail to the summit was built in 1908 as part of Oahu’s coastal defense system. The elevation gain is 157 meters. The trail started with a concrete walkway and then the ascent continued with a zigzag path where we had to also climb stairs or go through a lighted tunnel of almost 70 meters in length. From the summit we could see the bunkers and the lighthouse that was built in 1917. The peak of the crater was very crowded with people regardless the fact that we went there early in the morning. The views we got of the Honolulu shoreline and Waikiki Beach were stunning and well worth it. One thing to keep in mind when doing this trail is that entry and parking to the Diamond Head State Monument requires advance reservations. The fee for non-Hawaii residents is $5. We really enjoyed the trail and even saw some mongooses in the bushes (these non-native animals were brought from India to control the rats population).







Visiting Pearl Harbour and planning your visit

The easiest and cheapest way to go to Pearl Harbour is by public transportation. Bus 20 stops in front of the Visitor Centre. There are a lot of things to do when visiting Pearl Harbour. Some are paid attractions like USS Bowfin Submarine Museum, Pearl Harbour Aviation Museum and Battleship Missouri Memorial. There are also free tours, Arizona Memorial tour and Ford Island Bus Tour which takes you to visit USS Utah and USS Oklahoma memorials. It is important to know that for these free tours a reservation is needed in advance on recreation.gov website and you have to pay a $1 program management fee. Also no bags are allowed inside the visitor center or on the tours. Before entering the gate if you have a bag you will be directed to go to the paid lockers first.

Pearl Harbour Visitor Center

Exploring Visitor Center is an experience in itself. Inside we visited the two exhibit galleries that display personal memorabilia, photos or artifacts of the battle. Outside, throughout the Visitor Center area there were interpretative wayside exhibits that help imagining the events of that day and pay tribute to those that were killed during the attack.





Pearl Harbour Arizona Memorial

Arizona Memorial is the white concrete and steel structure seen across the water and was built above the wreckage of USS Arizona Battleship. The tour is about 45 minutes and includes the boat shuttle to the memorial, time on the memorial and the return trip to the Visitor Center. Free tickets get released online two weeks in advance. The time was enough to see the white wall with the names of those killed on the USS Arizona and also to take pictures or videos. Everything was well organized, military style.







Battleship Missouri Memorial

To visit Battleship Missouri, we had to head first to the bus shuttle that took us to Ford Island. The shuttle bus station is located to the right of the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum. We had to stay in line but there is a shuttle every 15 minutes. Tickets can be purchased either at the Visitor Centre or at the battleship site. They offer guided tours but we chose to tour on our own, we got to see all the decks and the inside of the battleship. Battleship Missouri is famous for being the place where the capitulation of Japan was signed on September 2, 1945.














USS Bowfin Submarine

Conveniently located within Visitor Center area, it is easy to visit. We did not visit the Museum and the submarine because we had no available time between the free tours but we could see it from the shore and from the boat.


Ford Island Bus Tour

The tour includes visits to both, USS Utah Memorial and USS Oklahoma Memorial, located on Ford Island. Because Ford Island is an active duty military installation, the tour requires advance online reservations. The tour is only Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 3:15-5:00 pm and there are only 25 spots released every day. Free tickets get released online two weeks in advance but at the time of the tickets release we had to be already logged in into our account and be ready to just click as the tickets disappear in no time. It is a 90 minutes guided tour and we travelled to the Ford Island on a smaller bus with the Park Rangers. All throughout the tour, a park ranger narrated the history of the ships and told us interesting stories about the marines that lost their lives that day.

We stopped first at the USS Utah Memorial which is located north of Ford Island where we could see the wreckage and the memorial,

 




Then we were taken to USS Oklahoma Memorial, located near the entrance to the USS Missouri on Ford Island. There is no wreckage to be seen because the whereabouts of USS Oklahoma are unknown. The white posts of the memorial were built using white marble to represent the colour of the sailor’s uniform and the line up of the posts represents the crew standing at attention.


The visit to Pearl Harbour was a humbling experience, one that we will never forget and actually one of the main reasons we wanted to visit Honolulu.

Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden

This botanical garden is located in Kane’ohe, on the eastern side of Oahu Island. Most people visiting are driving here but is also easy to visit by public transportation. The entrance is free. We took Bus 60 from Ala Moana Shopping Center. There were 17 stops and the ride was 45 minutes. The closest bus stop to the entrance, where we got off, was Anoi Rd + Hinamoe LP. From here it was a short walk of 500 meters to the Gate. The gate was manned by two park rangers available to give directions and information. As soon as we entered the gate we had a stunning view of the palm-lined road with the Ko’olau mountain range in the background. We had wished for many years to be in this very spot which took our breath away. The garden is so vast (400 acres) and has many winding trails through diverse plant species, by the man-made lake, full of colourful fish, or to the numerous lookouts offering great vistas for photos or videos. Everywhere we hiked we had breathtaking views of the unique Hawaiian mountain landscape and felt like we had the gardens for ourselves.













Sea Life Park to Halona Blowhole Shoreline Walk

Looking on Google Maps and seeing that walking was possible, we spent the day hiking and walking the south east shoreline of Oahu. We got early in the morning and jumped on Bus 23 which took us from the hotel, all the way to Sea Life Park.

Makapu’u Beach Park

After crossing the street from the Sea Life Park, we were already in front of one of the most beautiful ocean landscape. We could see Kaohikaipu Island and Manana Island Seabird sanctuaries surrounded by the white waves of blue ocean. Made a stop at Makapu’u Heiau, an area sacred for the Hawaiian people. The shoreline is all black volcanic rock which creates tide pools and dramatic scenery as the waves crash into the rocks. We continued to Makapu’u Beach and then climbed up to the road going to the Makapu’u Lookout which offers nice views of the whole area from above.






Makapu’u Point Lighthouse Trail

A short walking distance from Makapu’u Lookout is the Makapu’u Point Lighthouse Trailhead. It is an bout 4 km return trail that gains about 200 meters in elevation and is part of the Kaiwi State Shoreline Trail. The path is paved and goes steadily up but it is not too difficult. We encountered a lot of people hiking, including families with children. At the end of the hike there is a concrete lookout platform and from here we could have stunning views of the ocean coast, the offshore islets and of the red-roofed Makapu’u Lighthouse. The trail is an excellent place for watching the migrating humpback whales, we even spotted one but were not able to capture it on camera.





Kaiwi Shoreline Trail

After finishing the Lighthouse Trail we started the Kaiwi Shoreline Trail which starts at the same Trailhead, just followed the bifurcation in the road to the right. The trail continues on a dirt road flanked by a grassy meadow all the way to Alan Davis Beach.






Alan Davis Beach and Pele’s Rock Chair

This small hidden cove is also the location of Pele’s Rock Chair, a lava rock formation that looks like a giant chair from afar. Pele is the Hawaii volcano goddess, considered to be the creator of these beautiful volcano landscapes.




Halona Beach Cove and Halona Blowhole

We continued our hike along the rocky shores, to Halona Cove, a small cove surrounded by high ocean cliffs. As we climbed down, on the right, we could see also the lava tube, a tunnel like cave. To the left of the cove is the Halona Blowhole Lookout, offering good views of the geyser waterspout shooting the water high in the air.

 





We returned to the hotel with the same bus after walking back about 1.5 km to Kealahou St +Kalanianaole Hwy bus stop.

A Walk to Diamond Head Beach Park

On our last day in Honolulu we tried an easier walk to Diamond Head Beach Park and to Amelia Earhart’s Marker which is close to the Diamond Head Lookout. After that we followed the paved trail from the road, down to the narrower, more secluded beach where we enjoyed few moments of tranquility before heading back to the Waikiki.





Visiting Hawaii was an amazing experience, one that left us longing for more. From the amazing beaches, scenery, history and culture to the nice weather all year round and the multitude of activities that can be done, we found it to be a place where we want to return.

















Location: Honolulu, HI, USA

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